Sunday, February 23, 2014

To Debbie

 
How Deep is My Sorrow
 
How deep is my sorrow,
      How intense is my pain?
How bleak looks tomorrow,
     Will there be only rain?
 
My sorrow is deeper than any sea,
      The pain is hard to bear;
How can another tomorrow be
             Knowing you won’t be there?
 
    I miss your smile each morning,
       Your loving touch at night,
The birds don’t sing as sweetly
           The sunshine's not as bright.
 
To be with you again, my love
    Would be my greatest fate,
But my heart goes right on beating
             While my soul longs for its mate! 
                          ~pth

 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

We Didn't Even See it Coming

 
     As days turn into weeks, weeks, months, and months, years, most of us marvel at how fast time passes. We go from carefree children, to teen-agers, young adults, parents, and middle-aged grandparents so quickly that one day, we find ourselves wondering how we came to be in the autumn of our years so soon. Suddenly, younger folks are opening doors for us and calling us Ma’am or Sir.

We didn’t even see it coming! 


I was talking to a friend recently whose dog, a faithful companion for twelve years, had just been taken from her. We were bemoaning the fact that loss is so painful, when she said, “That’s the worst thing about getting old; you have to see so many loved ones die!” 

A profound statement, but true.  


Everyone seems fond of saying, “I’m a work in progress.” It’s a fact. We all are. We're also in training. Everything we do, everything that occurs in our lives, is a test. We cannot move to a higher level in life without taking a test. The things we go through from childhood to adulthood – the mishaps, hurts, disappointments, successes and failures – all of them prepare us for a later test. If we learn anything at all during these training years, then we will handle the later years more gracefully and hopefully, without as much pain, and each test will be easier to bear. 


Not only that, but having come through it ourselves and moved up a level, we will be able to help others cram for their tests. Our experience is invaluable to younger ones who are still struggling with the heartaches and disappointments that life throws at them. 


It’s so interesting – watching the changing of the guard, so to speak – the old generation moving on and the next one taking over.  

On this sunny February day, with springtime right around the corner, growing older doesn’t seem so bad though, does it? 


It’s still about living one day at a time; savoring every season of your life and helping others do the same.
~~~ 
   Remember sixteen—when all the world was new and your life stretched before you like virgin snow waiting for your footprints?

 www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Hello February!

Is it really February 1st already?
 
Is anyone else having trouble believing that the first month of our new year is gone?

Usually, when things aren't going so well, time seems to drag, but despite the extreme cold weather and the West Virginia water crisis that affected many of us, January literally evaporated!

People say the older you get, the faster time goes. That does seem to be the case. The happy, carefree days of childhood seem so long ago and far away. Everything was better then. Summers lasted forever, but even winters were more fun. School was almost never called because of snow. We donned our heavy coats, hats, gloves and boots and trudged right on to school anyway. It was enjoyable! At times, the snow was so deep you couldn't tell if you were walking on the sidewalk or in the street until a car happened by, which didn't happen often when there was that much snow.

Ah, sweet memories!

My friend, Carol, and I were talking this evening about some of the things we did when we were young and we had a good laugh.

I wouldn’t say we were bad kids, but sometimes, we did have a hard time staying out of trouble. No matter what our mothers forbade us to do, that’s just what we ended up doing. It seems they didn’t know the art of reverse psychology.

We'd go to the river when we weren't suppose to, walk too far or ride our bikes way out of our boundaries, and other things that were taboo.

Carol rarely got caught, but I couldn't get away with anything! My mother always said, "A little bird told me," when I'd ask how she found out I'd done something I shouldn't have.

Maybe that's the reason I'm still leery of birds today. 
~~~
Happy February!